While Democrat Hillary Clinton has led two statewide polls since March, Maine is one of two states to split Electoral College votes by congressional district and Trump’s chances are better in the more rural and conservative 2nd District.

However, that hasn’t happened here yet and Trump’s organization is lagging well behind Clinton’s. The Republican had just under $1.3 million in his war chest as of May’s end, compared to more than $42 million for his Democratic rival.

The Republican also failed his first organizational test in the Maine caucuses, where supporters of primary rival Ted Cruz carried Cruz to a decisive win in the March caucuses, then stormed the state convention to hand the Texas senator’s supporters 19 of 23 national delegate spots as LePage and his staff whipped delegates on Trump’s behalf.

But the general election will be a different challenge. While Trump may be the underdog, he’ll likely focus on an anti-free trade agreement message that could resonate in parts of Maine that have seen mill closures and manufacturing job losses.

However, the Press Herald poll of just more than 600 Mainers found that both Clinton and Trump are highly unpopular throughout the state, with 62 percent having an unfavorable view of Trump to 57 percent for Clinton. This lines up with national figures on the race, which features the most unpopular candidates in at least 10 election cycles, according to FiveThirtyEight.

About Michael Shepherd

Michael Shepherd joined the Bangor Daily News in 2015 after covering state, federal and local issues for the Kennebec Journal for three years. He's a Hallowell native who now lives in Gardiner. He graduated from the University of Maine in 2012 and is a graduate student at the University of Southern Maine's Muskie School of Public Service.
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